Wednesday, December 17, 2014

FINISH THAT THOUGHT #2-24 - RESULTS!

Phew! What a ride! If you missed any of the stories, go check them out here. Done? Great! Let's read what the judge had to say about our amazing entries this week:

This
is the first time I’ve been tasked with judging on my own, err so thanks for
making my job so difficult. I was sent the stories blind - i.e. all the names
and Twitter stuff taken off - and didn’t look up the names until I’d finished
typing up the little reviews.

I
enjoyed reading each of the entries, which cover a gamut of ideas, people and
ways of telling their stories. Everyone took on the Special Challenge and
thanks for that - it was a rather odd-ball mix of items I put in there, so I
wouldn’t have been surprised if some of you hadn’t attempted it. And I apologise for putting a courgette in
there, which some of you may have had to look up I should have bracketed as a
Zucchini; English, one language hey!

As
ever it is difficult to pick the winner and runners up and reading them on
another day... well, you know. But pick them I have and I think that they are
all fab. So well done and congratulations to all of you.

Well done and best wishes to you all. Carry
on writing - you’re all rather good at it.

Regard,
Andy

____

Joyful - Michael Simko

Nice
change to the ‘happy stick’ and enjoyed the imagery of the insanely happy horde
marauding through the suburbs making everyone uncomfortable. Always happy
people do have the effect don’t they.

The
ending was nice - in a not nice way - with the cursed family taking all the
protagonist’s joy from him. He didn’t have that much to spare and they sounded
far too happy before they stole the rest away from him. Poor man.

Well
done.

The Bear Necessities - Erin McCabe

Nice
change to the first line. Some great imagery in here too, particularly liked
the fur coat looking like ‘a hairy sea anemone caught in a storm’.

Really
enjoyed the relationship of the children to their unusual grandmother and the
gift they all took from that. And of course who doesn’t like ‘The Bear
Necessities’ (I’ll be singing it all day - though no skipping).

Great
story.

Blessed - Susan O’Reilly

The
only story switching the ugly stick to the pretty one - Oh those pretty ones,
don’cha just hate ‘em. I enjoyed this take. It certainly is an obvious blessing
if all too paper thin in reality, who really wants to be taken at face value?

I
particularly liked the ending which included the father recognising the beauty
and other blessings that the plainer daughter had and that she would ‘save
them’ all - rather than just the girl winning out by herself almost against her
family.

Well
done and Welcome to the Finish That Thought fold. Hope to see you again.

You Should Not Be Dancing - Holly Geely

Ha!
Loved this one from the off. I’m no disco dancer, you maybe surprised to learn
but the idea of an illness that was rapidly taking over the school then the
entire town with Saturday Night Fever visuals was brilliant.

Tightly
written with good dialogue and it certainly will get the conspiracy theorists
going...

Disco
WILL never die - I won’t say “unfortunately”...
ahem, but instead I’ll do that funky thing and I’ll put my finger up to the
sky!

Dance-tastic
and boogilicious!

Love is Blind... or is it? - Mark Driscoll

The
first of the tales to not change the first sentence and it was used in an
ultimately surprising way. A tale of true love and understanding, family and
friendship, holding hands or holding tentacles.

I
enjoyed the playful use of the surname particularly liked the description of the
plastic Faye King lady. Boy, she seemed the worst of the King tribe, but each
to their own. And the one eyed tentacle people could see past that. Huzzah!

Brilliant.

Upcycled - DB Foy

A
gnarly twist to the first sentence had an entire carful of people dead before
you could shout ‘Where’s the courgette?’ And then the main man of the story
came in to do his difficult job, looking for parts to upcycle.

Some
nice descriptions and having gone out earlier I very much sympathise with ‘the
December wind trying to rob warmth from my bones.’

The
relationship with the officer was nicely done: looking down on the guy doing
his daily, and a job he wouldn’t want to do himself.

Hoping
I won’t be upcycled anytime soon, though I’ll keep a courgette on me at all
times which can be used instead of any body parts.

Well
done.

Finding His Niche - Geoff Lepard

Ahh!
The Talents what a family. I really liked them straight away, ‘glorying in
(their) difference’ and is that not a life lesson in itself? Then looking for
each of their talents. Isn’t that something we all go through. Watching others
excel and wondering what it is we are good at. I’m still looking myself. At the
moment I think my talent may well be ‘waiting’.

The
Special Challenge was taken on with zeal and panache. The last paragraph
mentioned something about #FlashDogsAnthology being read on a Kindle, whatever
that is!?

Despite
that last strange paragraph I very much enjoyed this story ;-)

Problem-Solving - Tamara Shoemaker

An
unusual story of people with the ability to glow a blue neon and ask an open
question. As I’ve been looking for work lately I am well aware of those damn
open questions, at interviews... there to hang you...?

Onions
are more an evening smell for me and one of the characters professed to like
the smell of onions in the morning - clearly onions aren’t bacon and this
character is therefore wrong! (okay, that may be my personal preference getting
in there).

It
set a unique scene in another world/time and was a story that longed to be
longer - and left me with some - non-neon - questions.

Well
done.

Fugly - Michael Seese

The
first sentence was split up, which shouldn’t be done in this challenge. But I
enjoyed the story albeit reminding me of a certain ‘camel’ story I did for
Angry Hourglass (I think) a while back - that story got lots of eughs! too.

The
tragi-comic idea of wanting to fly with the flying Ducks but struggling with
heights and a gut problem led to an all too inevitable conclusion. But it was
nicely drawn further around with the short-sighted witch’s spell.

Top
flying, but don’t look down.

Broken World - Anna Elizabeth

Only
the second of the challengers to use the sentence unedited. I enjoyed the
images given to us of this war and disaster ridden world. The ending when the
man with the binoculars (there were a lot of those about in these stories, I
must get me some) felt conflicted - both sorry but unable to contain a laugh -
was well developed.

I
thought the first part of the story was particularly strong in showing us the
characters and I felt for them as they made their way into the camp.

Well
done.

Shifted (and just for fun!) - Nancy
Chenier/Annonymous

The
last story also used the first sentence untouched. It sounds like a nightmare
shift for the lad when the caravan load of loud and uncouth loafers came
ploughing into his work, when he expected a quiet day for reading. Best laid
plans and all that.

It
seems uncanny that he was in the process of reading ‘Pumpkinhead‘ when it all
started going south - that’s one of my stories. Like I say, uncanny.

Hope
he can hide in the closet or under the bed covers with his Kindle at some point
to finish the Flash Dogs Anthology. That said being under the covers after Aunt
Gwen’s courgette casserole may not be a good place to be...

Well
done.

Special Challenge Champion:Geoff Lepard
‘Finding His Niche’

Surprised
that everyone took it on with gusto and some great ingenuity (I loved the
courgette hair colouring for one). It was a rather random selection of items I
put in there so kudos to all.

This
week’s winner included seven of the items
which were neatly put into the fabric of the story, without feeling shoehorned
in - and ended with the main man becoming a writer after reading the Flash
Dogs Anthology - who knows maybe it will have that effect on someone. We can
but hope.

Well
done and congratulations.

Second Runner Up:Mark Driscoll - ‘Love Is
Blind’

Another
well constructed tale with a sting in it, I never saw the tentacles coming - I
never had a chance. Everyone deserves their shot at it and I say good luck to
them; and well done to you too!

First Runner Up:Erin McCabe ‘Bear
Necessities’

A
lovely story well told. Even throwing in a bit of Mario ‘Why always me?’ into
the mix. Why indeed and was that just coincidence? The transition from the
‘lunchtime atrocities’, to the circus and the attempt of the teacher to bring a
bit of reality back was seamless.

Congrats.
But I don’t thank you for the ear-worm.

Grand Champion:Holly Geely - You Should Not Be
Dancing

I
just fell in love with style and tone of this story and its general feeling of
fun. The whole imagery of it made me laugh, which on any given day is a good
thing.

Creating
the idea that disco was killed off by unseen party poopers perhaps funded by
the CIA, hand-in-hand with some tentacle clad mercenaries and various relatives
of George Bush... yes, I can see it. Disco was murdered, you better believe it.

Top
writing and a pair of virtual stack shoes and bell bottoms to you!

PS
if I’m dancing at the moment it is not to disco it is to: ‘Bare necessities,
the simple bare necessities, forget about your worries and your strife...’

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About Me

I am privileged to be the wife of an amazing man; the mother of a 9 year old girl, 6 year old boy, and 6 year old girl (yes, they're twins); and a writer. I'm currently working on the third draft of my first book and the first draft of my second. I will hopefully be sharing them with others soon!
I have a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. I taught eighth grade science for two years. I've subbed at all levels. I volunteer in youth ministry at church. If I’m really lucky, I get to travel with my mother-in-law. Oh, and I read any chance I get!